Pa and the lilies of Stellenbosch

Papa buys a house in Karindal early in 1963
a house that had narina lilies in the garden
the garden that had a view of a mountain

I saw that later
on faded snapshots
that his garden was so beautiful
with all the flower beds

I remember one morning
we went for an outing
where I walked in a vlei

where the grass was as high as an elephant’s eye
and it looked like it was climbing right up in the sky
oh, what a wonderful morning
oh, what a lovely day
with kind arum lilies all around me
smiling and swaying
with their sweet soft sigh

when papa picked me up 

and held me against him

and so he has always drawn me closer

my poet dad
my shining stone

🦋🌿

© Annora Eksteen, 2025